Golfer&#39;s accessory



March 13, 1962 B. W. FLOOD GOLFERS ACCESSORY Filed March 15, 1960INVENTOR.

United States Patent Odice 3,925,664 Patented Mar. 13, 1962 3,025,964GLFERS ACCESSORY Ben W. Flood, 1001 SE. 8th St., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.Filed Mar. 15, 1951), Ser. No. 15,263 1 Claim. (Cl. 273-183) Thisinvention relates to a golfers accessory for helping a golfer improvehis or her game, and more particularly to a device for producing a soundsuch as a click when the golfer moves his or her head from the properposition so as to provide a signal which will help the golfer toremember to keep his or her head in the proper position so as to aid thegolfer in improving his or her game.

This invention is an improvement over the golfers accessory shown anddescribed in my prior patent application Serial No. 799,969, tiledFebruary 3, 1959, now abandoned.

The principal object of this invention is the provision of the devicewhich is adapted to be worn on a persons head whereby as long as thehead is kept in the proper position no sound will be produced, but whenthe golfer inadvertently moves his or her head out of the properposition, a clicking or striking sound will be produced which willindicate that the head has been moved out of the proper position wherebythe golfer will be able to more readily learn to maintain the head inthe proper position for the most effective play of the game of golf.

An important feature of the present invention is the use of the devicewhich can be attached to a band that is adapted to be worn on thepersons head, or wherein the device can be concealed in an article ofheadgear, such as a cap so that the device is not noticeable, andwherein in either case sound deadening material is utilized in thedevice in order to minimize or prevent noise during normal pla Y of thegame, but wherein when the head is moved out of its proper position aclicking sound is produced by a ball shaped member moving against an endpiece which will provide an indication that the head has been moved fromits proper or desired position so that corrective action can be takenwherein the golfer will learn to keep his or her head in the properposition vby means of the present invention.

Another object of the invention is to provide a golfers accessory whichis economical to manufacture, simple in form and construction and whichconsists of few parts and which is strong, durable and highly eflicientin its practical application.

Other and more specific objects will be apparent from the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE l is a longitudinal sectional view showing the device mounted ona band such as `a head band which can be arranged in engagement with apersons head.

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of FIGURE l.

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE 2 but showing the ball shapedmember in a different position.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 5 is an elevational view illustrating the modification whereinthe device is shown `mounted in an article of headgear such as a golferscap, and with parts broken away and in section.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral indicates a golfersaccessory of the present invention which is shown to comprise a hollowcasing or housing 11 that is adapted to be fastened to a head engagingmember such as the head band 12 as for example by means of securingelements or pins 13.

The casing 11 is hollow and includes spaced apart end walls 1d and alsoincludes spaced parallel arcuate front and back walls 15 and 16, as wellas spaced parallel top and bottom walls 1'7 and 18.

Arranged in the casing 11 is a track member 19, and the track member 19includes an upstanding wall portion 20 as well as a wall section 21, andthe wall section 21 is arranged contiguous to the bottom wall 16. Thetrack member 19 is made of a suitable sound deadening material such asrubber, or a suitable plastic material or the like.

The wall section 21 of the track member 19 is shaped to include inclinedsurfaces 22 and 23 which meet at a lower junction or lower recessed area24, FIGURE 3. The numeral 25 indicates a movable spherical member orball shaped member, and the member 25 is mounted for movement along atrack member 19, and as long as the golfers head is in the properposition, the ball shaped member will remain in the area or chamber 29,but when the golfer inadvertently moves his or her head in the wrongmanner, the ball shaped member will move into engagement with the endwall 14 in order to produce a clicking sound which will provide a signalthat the head has been wrongly moved whereby the necessary correctiveaction can be taken and wherein the future wrongful movements of thehead can be minimized or prevented.

There is further provided an end piece 2d which may form part of thetrack member 19, and the track member and end piece are adapted to bemade of a suitable sound deadening material so that no sound is producedat the wrong time. The numeral 27 indicates a base portion and there isalso provided an upstanding curved stop portion 2S which coacts with theadjacent parts to provide a chamber 29 for receiving the ball 2Stherein. The numeral St) indicates a guide member which is suitablyaffixed to or formed integral with the top wall 17 so as to help guidethe ball 25 in its movement, and the guide member 3@ is provided with aninclined or tapered surface 31.

Referring now to FIGURE 5 of the drawings, there is illustrated amodified arrangement wherein the device is shown mounted in a cap suchas a golfers cap 32 instead of being used only on a head band such asthe head band 12. Thus, the device is shown positioned in an area 33 ofthe cap 32, and the device can be fastened in place by any suitablemeans, and a portion 34 of the cap 32 can conceal the present inventionso that the device is not visible, when mounted in the cap or otherarticle of headgear.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that there has been provided agolfers accessory which is an improvement over the device shown anddescribed in my prior patent application Serial No. 790,969. When usingthe present invention, the parts are `arranged as shown in the drawingsand the device is adapted to be worn or mounted on the golfers head asfor example by means of the head band 12, or else the device may bemounted in a cap such as the cap 32 which can be worn on the golfershead. When the device is mounted in a cap such as the cap 32, the headband 12 can be fastened to the sweat band 3S of the cap as for exampleby means of securing elements 36.

It is to be noted that with the parts arranged as shown, that normallythe ball 25 which is of a solid material, will remain in its properposition as long as the golfers head is maintained at the proper angle.However, when the head is tilted or moved out of the proper position,the ball 2S will move to strike against an end wall 14 so as to producea clicking or ping sound which will serve as a signal or notification tothe golfer that the head has been moved and in the wrong fashion so thatcorrective steps can be taken to prevent recurrence of such movement. Byproperly moving the device, the ball can be returned to its normalposition so that the device can be used over and over again. The guidemember Btl coacts with the `adjacent parts of the device to help insurethat the ball will remain inthe desired position as the device is movedback and forth. By making the track member i9 of a sound deadeningmaterial such as a suitable rubberlike compound, there will be no noiseto distract or interfere with the ordinary playing of the game of golf,and the end Wall 14 is made of a hard or rigid material so that when theball 25 contacts the member or wall id, the noticeable clicking soundwill be produced.

The device may be arranged as shown in FTGURE l so that it is fastenedto the head band l2 which can then be positioned. on the golfers head,or as shown in FIG- URE the device can be mounted in a golfers cap suchas the golfers cap 32 and wherein the portion 34 of the cap will concealthe device so that the device is not visible, to other players orobservers.

The band l?. may be arranged in engagement with the golfers forehead,and the device can be used by either men or women. Suitable materialscan be used for making the various parts, and the shape and size can bevaried as required or desired. The device may be attractively coloredland designed so as to enhance the attractiveness thereof.

The end piece 2.6 is an integral or continuous part of the track 19 andthe end piece 26 as well as the entire track il@ are adapted to be madefrom hard rubber or a similar sound deadening material. The glass ballremains in the recessed area 29 at all times until the golfers head israised suddenly to the left, then the ball comes out of the recessedarea or chamber 29, rolls down the track 19, and strikes the ends ld ofthe outer case which is of a hard material so as to provide the suddensharp click or sound action and this is an important feature or aspectof the present invention. This accessory as shown in the drawings hereinis designed for a right hand golfer, and the reverse action will takeplace for a left hand golfer.

The glass ball 2d cornes up and over the surface 22 in FIGURE 2 to thetop of the surface 23 striking the end wall 14 to produce the sound. ltis to be noted that the right hand end of the surface 23 is a higherelevation to assist the ball after striking the end wall ld in order toenable gravity to direct it back to the recessed area where it remainsat all times completely noiseless until the l golfers head flies upjerking it out of this recessed area and forcing it against the rightend wall le.

The accessory of the present invention is perfectly quiet during puttingand playing at all times and this is the reason for the entire insidearea being molded in rubber or a similar sound proof material.

Minor changes in shape, size and rearrangement of details coming withinthe tield of invention claimed may be resorted to in actual practice ifdesired.

What is claimed is:

A golfers accessory comprising an arcuate band, a hollow casing affixedto said band and said casing embodying Jrst and second spaced apart endwalls, said casing further including spaced parallel curved front andback Walls, and said casing also including spaced parallel top andbottom walls, a track member of sound deadening material arranged insaid casing, a ball-shaped member movably mounted in said track member,a guide member secured to the top wall of said casing and said guidemember having a tapered surface for helping to guide the ball member,said track member having an upstanding wall portion arranged contiguousto the front of the casing, said track member further embodying a wallsection adjacent to the bottom wall of said casing, said wall sectionembodying inclined surfaces which have their lower portions meeting in ajunction that provides a lower recessed `area for at times receivingsaid ball member, said track member further including a chamber adjacentthe irst end wall of said casing, an end piece of sound deadeningmaterial arranged Within said chamber, said end piece embodying a baseportion and an upstanding curved stop portion, said base portion beingpositioned Within said chamber at a lower level than the inclinedsurfaces of said wall section whereby when the golfers head isimproperly moved, the ball member comes out of the chamber and rollsalong the track member to strike the second end Wall of said casing soas to provide a sudden sharp click which provides a signal for helpingthe golfer to keep the head in proper position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSRoberts Peb. 2.7, 1940

